Fairytale
by Nika565
Summary: NorFem!Den. Crown Prince Lukas Bondevik is having troubles finding his Crown Princess. One day he has a run in with something he only thought were fairy tales. A mermaid named Mathine. He is in for a surprise as his life spirals into confusion once she enters his life. Maybe she will be able to crack his icy exterior. AU with mermaids.
1. Chapter 1

**Fairytale**

One Lukas Bondevik walked the beach outside his home. Or, castle. He was the crown prince of Norway, heir apparent to the throne. He sighed. Being crown prince, he had many, many duties.

He walked the length of the beach silently, listening to the waves roll in gently and the breeze rolling through the grass on the bluff above. The shouts and cries of the children splashing about the water made Lukas a tad bit envious, his childhood was rather restricted and he never enjoyed the freedom of getting to do what he wanted. As a result, he was a rather quiet, disciplined young man who liked to keep to his self. His father always joked saying that he would make, 'One hell of a King.'

After a few minutes' walk, he arrived to the cove. His own personal discovery and hide out. He found it when he was younger, escaping the crowded castle and choking demands and lessons he had. He often came to it whenever he had a lot on his mind and needed time to think long and hard without any disruptions.

And now, was one of those times.

Since he had come of age a few years ago, his family had been heavily pushing the idea of marriage. They invited many other young girls of local and foreign rulers ranging from dukes daughters to princesses of neighboring kingdoms.

It irked him. So far, all the woman that had been pushed towards him seemed fake, using the fancy dresses, choking perfumes and their irritatingly high-pitched voices going on and on about how handsome and smart that he was. He scoffed just thinking of the latest one, some wild-spirited princess from the south-east. Granted she was rather pleasing to the eye, but she had a haughty and icy personality, ordering everyone around and going on about someone that she was obviously obsessed with. From what Lukas gathered, the man she talked about didn't return her feelings.

He frowned and ran his hands through his blonde hair. He ranted aloud his problems, thinking no one was there to hear his shouts of how unfair life was to him. He threw his arms about and stalked around the small area until he had let out all of his feelings. He collapsed and sat there admiring the beauty of the Norwegian summer for a number of minutes, hour's maybe. Lukas didn't know, he felt like time froze there.

He got up, shaking off any sand on his clothes, and slowly made his way back to the castle, dreading having to hear his parents how important it was that he must marry soon and continue the royal line.

He was so caught up in thought he had failed to notice the shimmering red tail and shining blonde hair of the mermaid who decided to occupy the cove once he left, eyes staring up at the sky, lost in thought and a smile on her face.

~o~O~o~

Lukas reluctantly told his parents of the lost cause with the princess from the Slavic Kingdom over dinner. They had summoned quite a few of them already, a quiet girl from a German speaking country, a fierce set of twins from the Roman Empire, a strong willed one from Hungary, even the sister of the one that he was currently supposed to be courting. And that was only the list of princesses. There was an even longer list of daughters of the minor nobility.

His parents were beginning to lose hope with any luck on their son finding a woman he would be happy with. They jokingly called him the Ice Prince, since he had found no one to his suiting thus far and no one had ever piqued his interest in the past. He shrugged their comments off and shared a look with his brother. Well, adopted brother, Prince Emil. He was the son of an Icelandic cousin of some sorts whose parents had died and the only family left was the Bondevik's. Since the King and Queen were saddened at their inability to birth more children after an unfortunate accident after Lukas was born, they gladly let the young boy into their family. The two were rather close.

He finished his meal quickly, nodding and agreeing with what his parents said, and asked to be excused from the table. He wished that he could have more days to himself, but knew that that would be impossible. He still had many things that he must learn before he would be crowned King. He retreated to his room for the evening and remained there until he decided to retire for the night.

~o~O~o~

The days passed, and Lukas continued to be drilled on mannerisms, alliances, strategies, etiquette, and a number of other things. He struggled slightly with the amount of information the teachers and lecturers often told him. Occasionally, he would complain about it to Emil. As a prince, he had much more freedom then the one who would be crowned King. He was fine to leave that to Lukas. He often worked on singing. Though he allowed few to hear his voice, Emil sang very well. Every once in a while, Lukas was able to convince his younger brother to sing for him; he always enjoyed it and gave him much praise.

About a week passed before Lukas was able to escape the confines of the castle again. As soon as he had some free-time, he walked to the massive gate, saying hello to the gate-keeper and informing him in general where he was going as he opened the gate just wide enough to let him out. He wandered down the usual path he took to get to the nearby beach, and slipped out of his shoes so that he could feel the warm sand between his toes. He had dressed lighter than he normally would have, knowing that it would be quite hot outside, only wearing a light shirt, short pants and a vest. He walked along in the shallow water, waves lapping at his legs until he reached his little cove.

He was surprised to see that someone was also there. Actually, surprised was quite the understatement. He let out a cry of shock at actually seeing someone in a place he had claimed as his, and another when he saw that the woman was not even human.

He stared wide eyed at her; all she wore was dark black shells to cover the swell of her chest. Her tail was strikingly red and shimmered in the sun as she flicked it. Obviously a mermaid. She sat half in the water, looking at the prince with interest.

Lukas stumbled backwards a few steps, tripping and landing in the sand. He stammered out a few things about impossible and wondering what was going on.

The mermaid laughed. "I was wondering if you would ever come back. I have been waiting her ever since I saw you throw your temper tantrum. You piqued my interest, and I decided that I wanted to talk to you."

"Bu-but- Not human. You-your tail. You don't have legs," he stammered out.

"You are rather observant," she said and laughed again, flicking her tail in the water.

Lukas shook his head, wondering if he had possibly been slipped some sort of hallucinogen and this was the result.

"No. I am not a part of your imagination." The mermaid said, looking at the cool face of the prince. "Humans are such interesting creatures," she muttered and scooted closer to Lukas.

"I am Mathine Køhler by the way," she said, holding her hand out awkwardly trying to mimic the gesture she had often seen humans do when they saw each other when she observed them.

Still shook up, Lukas reflexively took her hand, shaking it. "Lukas. Lukas Bondevik."

She took his hand in both of hers, turning it around and looking at it. "Wow. You have big hands," she said, holding hers up to his to compare them, smiling widely.

Lukas just stared at her. She had shiny blonde hair that was spikey and stuck out at odd angels with a small black hat nestled in it. She looked like a generally happy and expressive person. Quite the opposite of Lukas.

"Lukas, Lukas. Lukas." She said, testing out his name. "That name suits you. But can I call you Luke? That is less work to say."

Lukas frowned. "No, call me Lukas," He disliked nicknames, they implied familiarity. "And stop touching me." He pulled his hand away from hers.

"Whatever you say Luke!"

Lukas frowned. Mathine playfully lent forward, nearly naked body flush against his and grabbed his nose. "You should smile more."

Lukas blushed at the proximity of her and tried pushing her away, but didn't want to touch her bare skin out of respect.

"Hei. Too close."

She looked confused but backed up nonetheless. Where she was from, the personal bubble, so to say, was much closer than that of humans.

"So. You are a mermaid." He stated.

"Yep." Another flick of her bright red tail.

"But. Those are just fairytales," he said, confused.

She grabbed his hand and put it on her tail, "Do I seem like a fairytale?"

No, she seemed solid, her scales slippery like a fishes and rather cool to the touch. He frowned some more, wondering if this was a dream. A very vivid and imaginative dream. He had never seen anything like this.

"No. I suppose not. Here, put this on," he said, handing her his vest.

She took it from him, slipping her hands through the holes of the vest. "This is big on me. Why am I wearing it?" she asked.

"Because you are indecent," he said simply, glad that most of her skin was now covered.

_Indecent_, she thought with a slight huff, _humans are so restricting._

"Why are you here?" Lukas asked, sitting a decent distance away from her, though she continued to scoot closer.

"I was curious." At Lukas's inquisitive look, she elaborated. "I was swimming around, looking for anything familiar when I heard you making a ruckus, and decided when you left that I wanted to get to know you."

Lukas stared at her. Honestly. She seemed very instinctive and like she often did what she wanted.

"That's interesting. Who are you?"

"I told you. Mathine Køhler."

"No, who _are_ you? Where did you come from?" he asked, deciding to wonder later if this encounter was real or an illusion or a trick of the mind.

"I am Mathine Køhler." She said again, "I am the daughter of the King of the Mermaid Kingdom that dominates the area around the country of Denmark. Most of the Black Sea and extending into the North Sea." She said this, managing to sit up straight and sound regal as she said it, though once she did; she went back to her playful nature, a goofy smile on her face.

"And who are you?" she shot the question back at him.

"Lukas Bondevik, Crown Prince of Norway, which dominates the land that borders the North and Norwegian Sea, reaches extending to the islands of Iceland and the northern reaches of the British Isles."

"That is a lot of land," she said thoughtfully.

The two conversed until it was rather late, the summer sun getting closer to the horizon with every minute, meaning that it was surely late. It was the height of summer and the place was known for its long days and midnight suns. Lukas was a bit reluctant to leave; she was in fact a rather likeable person, albeit loud. When he stood and said that he really must return, she pleaded for him to stay. He shook his head, saying that he couldn't. She pouted slightly and made him promise to return the next day, as she had something that she wanted to show him.

Lukas said yes, though he was unsure of whether he would actually be able to do so. She smiled widely again, and pulled Lukas down and kissed him on the cheek. Lukas stood back up and touched the spot where she had kissed him, feeling his face get warm from the blush.

As he left, he heard a mournful voice sing in an unrecognizable language a song that brought tears to his eyes.

He stumbled back to the castle and murmured half answers to the questions from his parents demanding to know where he had been at such a late hour. Once they figured they weren't going to get any more out of him, they sent him back to his room. Once there, he collapsed into his bed, still in his clothes. He could still feel the softness of her lips on his cheek as he fell asleep, a slight smile on his face.

~o~O~o~

So this idea popped into my head, and I wanted to write it out. I have vague ideas on where I maybe want this to go if I were to continue it. Should I? I feel like I have Denmark ooc, and I have no knowledge of how Scandinavian royalty work's (Or royalty in general… OTL), so pardon if any of it is wrong!

I was inspired by a song with the same title. I am thinking of toying with this idea, I like it.


	2. Chapter 2

Lukas blundered through the next day, not really paying attention to what was going on around him, moving along like a ghost. He zoned out during his lessons, didn't reply when someone asked him a question, and mostly ignored everyone else. His mind was still whirling with thoughts of yesterday.

The mermaid, he thought to himself a bit wistfully. A creature of legend that had contacted him specifically! He hoped that yesterday hadn't been a dream; he would like to get to talk to her more, get to know more about what she was.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his teacher smacked him on the head with a bow.

"Concentrate!" He yelled in accented Norse. The man was some renowned musician from the main land. He had been brought up to teach the prince how to play an instrument called a _violin_. It was a bit of a mystery to Lukas, but he was beginning to get the hang of it. He had listened to the brown-haired man play some really long songs on it, and they sounded nice. Lukas hoped that he would be able to master it soon. This instrument seemed preferable to the other instrument that he was trying to teach him to play, the piano.

He felt like the day would never end. He half-heartedly played the song in front of him, his mind elsewhere.

"No, no, stop. This won't do. You are obviously distracted. You are done for the day. Pack up and come back with a clear head," Mr. Edelstein said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

Lukas smiled, actually smiled, when he said that. Edelstein's eyes widened in shock, he had never seen the prince smile before. He pushed up the frames to his glasses and watched as the young man ran out of the room, footsteps echoing in the hallway. He briefly pondered what had caused it, then pushed the thought away and sat down and started playing the piano.

Lukas ran like the devil was at his heels. He narrowly avoided several collisions with various servants and guests, and full on ran into Emil as he rounded a corner.

"Hei! Watch where your- Brother?!" He exclaimed.

"Hi Emil. Sorry about that. Don't walk and read!" he said as his brother picked up a book.

"Don't run in the castle," he shot back, fingering through the book to find the page he was on. "Why are you running anyways?" he asked.

"Yes. Well. Yeah, because." He frowned slightly. "Yes, because of that. See you later, Emil!"

And he was off running again.

Emil just rolled his eyes and continued walking.

Lukas ran until just before he got to the cove, he bent over and panted for breath, wondering if he would see the mermaid. Once his breathing was back to normal, he could hear the sound of laughter and splashing in the water. The noise drew him in, and he slowly stepped forward

She was out in the water, swimming around on the surface, a dolphin seeming to play around her. The dolphin let out a series of clicks and whistles, motioning towards Lukas. Mathine turned around and waved.

"Hiya Luke!" she called.

"Hei," he responded, walking closer to the edge of the water. The two in the water made their way towards him.

"Luke this is Gunne, short for Gunnar. And Gunne, this is my friend Lukas."

The dolphin, Gunne, clicked and whistled, and if it were possible for a dolphin to do so, it seemed to be glaring at Lukas. He waved slightly and the dolphin jumped up, splashed, and turned tail and swam away. Lukas flinched at the sudden wetness. Mathine just laughed.

"Haha, I'm sorry. Normally he is friendly towards people. I wonder why he did that…" she pondered for a second or two, before shaking her head and smiling brightly. "Anyways, I have known Gunne since he was a baby dolphin. His mother was killed by netters. She got trapped in one and died. I comforted him afterwards, and he has sort of become a personal bodyguard slash best friend to me. I wanted you to meet him."

"Um, right. Okay," he said, sitting in the sand. Mathine shimmied up in the sand, leaving her tail, for the most part, in the water, and her upper body on shore.

She looked rather childish, he thought, hands folded together under her chin, the ever present grin on her face. And pretty. He stopped that train of thought, though blush found its way to his cheeks. He looked away, looking into the distance.

"So what is your place like?" he asked, "A palace?"

"Well," she started. "It is a palace. It stretches for kilometers and has many courtyards, full of gardens and places..." She continued to describe vividly what the palace looked like. As well as what sort of things went on under the sea, politics, and gossip, how wars were fought, when and why, how they kept the borders and other neighboring kingdoms. Lukas asked a constant stream of questions, Mathine always happy to answer them.

He learned that she was an only child, though had a large extended family.

In return, he told her about life on land. He talked about the castle, surrounding lands and his brother.

"Your brother seems like a nice person," she said, idly drawing a pattern in the sand.

For some unknown reason, Lukas felt a sudden flash in his chest. He pushed the feeling away and said, "Yeah, I suppose he is."

The two were quite for a while, only broken by the waves rolling in.

"I wish I could show you around. It would be the perfect time to, there is a festival coming up in the next few days," Lukas said.

Mathine looked at him curiously, "Mmmm, yeah. That sounds like it would be fun."

They fell into another comfortable silence, though Mathine looked like she was deep in thought.

Lukas looked at her, thinking she looked quite a bit older when she looked serious. And beautiful. He quickly looked away, glaring stubbornly at the sand.

He jumped when Mathine poked his cheek, giggling. "Your face will get stuck that way if you keep that up."

"No it won't," he said, making his face blank.

"Don't do that! That's creepy! Like you don't have a soul, or something," she said, waving her hands, as if it would blow the expression off of his face. Lukas raised an eyebrow and smirked at her childish reactions.

She pouted before grabbing tightly onto his legs, surprising him, and dragging him down into the water. He screamed and tried to break free. But his thrashing only seemed to help the mermaid pull him in more. She laughed and dunked his head under water once they were out far enough. She shrieked as he splashed about, trying to get up. She let him go and he came up for breathe and said a number of unspeakable words that would result in a glare and a demand to rinse his mouth if his mother had heard it.

She laughed some more and swam a distance away from him before he fully recovered. He let out an angry noise before he tried to catch up with her. Tried, being the key word. A mermaid in her home territory, he didn't have a chance. She swam circles around him, taunting him and coming just within reach before darting away. Maddened, he tried again and again to catch her before finally giving up and just lay there floating in the water, pouting.

"Aw, are you pouting?" she asked.

"I am not."

"I think you are."

"Am not."

"Mmhm."

"No."

She laughed and pulled him underwater, this time going down with him. She brought her face close to his, resting their foreheads together. He struggled briefly before, suddenly, he could breath as he normally would, except in the water. It was slightly disorienting.

_Oh! It does work! _A voice said, though he seemed to hear it in his head and it sounded like Mathine.

He opened his mouth, trying to form words, frowning when only bubbly came out of his mouth.

_No, haha. You don't have to do that. Just think what you want to say, and I'll hear it in my head._

There was nothing for a time then he tentatively tried it. _Mathine…?_

_Yep! That's me! _ She grinned childishly.

His eyes widened. _How are you doing this? _

_The perks of being a royal. Mermaid royalty have special powers. This, being able to breathe and speak underwater, is one of them. A short gift we are able to bestow upon humans. It only lasts around a quarter of an hour?_

How long had it been since they went under? How much longer did he have?

She took his hand and dragged him around. They swam for a few minutes more and then broke for the surface. Lukas began to breathe normally again. He glanced up at the sun.

He was late for dinner, if he had read the sun correctly.

"Oh, I have to go," he said.

Mathine pouted. "Why? You stayed late yesterday!" she exclaimed.

"Well, yes. But that had been after dinner. And that is the one meal I am not allowed to skip."

"… Will you come back tomorrow?" She asked.

"I'll try, though I don't know if I will get in trouble."

"… Okay."

The two swam back to shore, and said their goodbyes.

Lukas ran back up to the castle, managing to dry off a bit, but still dripping wet once he reached it. His mother scolded him for getting the beautiful rug wet. "What were you doing?"

"Swimming," he replied lamely.

"Well, obviously. But why are you late for dinner? You know that we must be there to help plan the festival. And the princess acts up less if you are around."

Princess…? It took him a second to remember who he was supposed to be courting. Natalya. He wrinkled his nose. If he was the Ice Prince, she was the Ice Queen.

"Don't make that face," his mother chided. "Now go dry up and get dressed in dry clothes. Be there in 20 minutes."

He sighed and started to his room.

~o~O~o~

Yep, hello. I have had the beginning of this chapter sitting in a folder for the last 6 months or so. School, homework, stressful, fun summer schools, got into a relationship. I have been quite busy. But I wasn't up to much the other night, so I sat down and typed up this. I have more ideas for it now. I have a more concrete idea of where I want this to go. Thank you for the reviews saying that you like it! I am not the best writer, or fastest, but I hope you enjoy this

I will try and write more, I have what I want to happen next in my head. But I need to type it all out. I'll try and have more words the next chapter as well.

Bye then))


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